Italy: The Rape Kills but also the Silence

By WFWP Italy: On the 9th of March 2016 there was held an important convention in Rome, in the Palace of the Government at Piazza Montecitorio, in the Hall of the Queen, promoted by the Association TAM TAM D’AFRIQUE in order to make a request to create an international court that would condemn and punish the people who are guilty of committing rape during the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mrs. Elisabetta Nistri, the President of the WFWP of Italy had been invited to participate as a one of the godmothers to this event. There were also Lady Senators, the Honourable Mrs. Silvia Costa and the Honourable Mrs. Cècile Kyenge and several other Leaders from different Associations.

The President of the Association Tam Tam d’Afrique Lady Doctor Mbiye Suzanne Diku opened the meeting making an appeal to the national and international institutions to not close their eyes and keep silent in front of the tremendous suffering that thousands of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo go through every day, being raped and sold as slaves or neglected and left alone in the jungle. The President Diku concluded saying that now has come the time to act, and not only to speak. Now has come the time to realize the globalization of the Human Rights.

There were several Speakers who have promised to keep on supporting this issue, among whom the Lady Doctor Bianca Pomeranzi representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Lady Doctor Laura Frigenti, the Director of the Italian Agency for the Cooperation for the Development and the Lady Doctor Concetta Mirisola, the Director of the National Institute of Health, Migration and Poverty.

In her speech Mrs. Elisabetta Nistri presented briefly the WFWP, its purpose and the desire that the Founders, the Rev. and Mrs. Moon have, to realize a peaceful world, trusting a lot on the precious contribution that the women of the whole world can offer because of their particular motherly nature. In order to realize a peaceful world it is absolutely necessary that first of all the fundamental Human Rights will be recognized. Elisabetta added that the people who perpetuate this kind of violence can be called neither human beings nor animals and that God cannot but suffer and cry when He sees such tragedies. It is our duty to denounce these crimes and really touch the conscience of the people. We must create a network for concrete actions until the humanity will be kind of obliged to change the direction. Because the humanity is more and more connected with each other, peace and welfare will be for everybody or in alternative there will be peace for nobody.

Furthermore Elisabetta introduced the magazine “Voci di Pace” (Voices of Peace) which represents an alternative information collecting articles about the activities of the Ambassadors of Peace and also of people from different religious and cultural backgrounds who are working to promote peace in their area of responsibility. In the magazine of this month, among the other articles, by chance there was an article about the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In her conclusion Elisabetta promised to give resonance to this event and to this initiative through all the National and International channels of the WFWP and to continue to be a spokesman of this issue personally, too.

After all the godmothers had signed the Flag with the petition that will travels across Europe.